foley



NAFETEFS. PHOTOLITHOGRAFHER. WASHINGTON, D C. V

l UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

D. D. FOLEY, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

POSTAL LETTER-BOX.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, D. D. FOLEY, of the city and countyA of Washington,in the District of Columbia, have invented a new and usef'ul Improvementin Postal Letter-Boxes; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a perspective view ofmy box with the port open. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section ofthe same, showing the internal mechanism. Fig. 8 is a rear elevation ofmy box, the back plate being removed, so as to allow an inspection ofthe inclosed mechanism.

The nature of my invention consists, first, in producing a box for thereception of postal matter which shall be simple, cheap, and durable inits construction and workin g arrangement, not liable to derangeinentfrom use or the effects of the weather, and secure from depredation.

That others may understand the construction and operation of myinvention, I will particularly describe it.

A is the box or casing containing the work'- ing devices and thereceptacle for the mail matter. A sliding partition, B, is insertedtransversely about midway of the height of the box. Itis about half theinternal width of the box, so that it has a sliding movement of abouthalf the width ofthe box. Above the sliding partition B are the twostationary partitions C and D. An opening, E, in the side or top of thebox corresponds with the space between the partitions C and D, thusforming an antechamber, K, with a movable bottom. The opening E iscovered by a sliding valve, F, which is connected with the slidingpartition B by means of a bar, F', rigidly attached to the sliding valveF and passing through a slot in the upper edge of the box, covered bythe sliding strip F, to the inside of the box, and connected immediatelyunder the lid with the link G and lever H, having its fulcrum at h, sothat as the valve F is moved toward the right to uncover the opening Ethe partition B is moved toward the left and slides under and past thelower edges of the partitions C and D, thus closing the ante'chamber K,and these movements of B and F are so timed Vthat the space between thepartitions C and D is entirely closed at the bottom by B before thevalve F begins to open, and vice versa. The lever H has a bearing, h,fixed at each end to the inner sides ofthe box.

Around the opening E is a raised bead or ledge, i, against the surfaceof which the inner side of the valve F rubs as it moves back and forth.The object of this is to allow a little free space between the valve andthe surface of the box without at the same time exposing the opening Ein any degree.

The ledge I projects over the edge of the door J, so that wet or snowcannot enter the joint between the edge of the door and the casing, andthus impede the operation of opening the door. The vertical edges of thedoor are turned so as to embrace the edges of the box a little, in orderto cover the joint, for the same purpose as the ledge I. The door ismade to open from the top downward, as shown by red lines in Fig. 2.

The construction of my devices is such that when the valve F is pushedaside to uncover the opening E it will return again to its seat withoutassistance.

The operation of my invention will be apparent. When a letterA or othermatter for the mail is to be deposited the opening E is uncovered andthe package is inserted. It is then within the ante-chamberK and restsupon the movable bottom B; but when the valve E is released itimmediately recloses the opening and withdraws the sliding bottom B,thus allowing the package to fall into the receptacle below, and this isrepeated every time a letter or package is inserted.

Itis secure against depredation, because the two openings E and thatclosed by the sliding board B can never be even partially uncovered atthe same time, and it will therefore be impossible to abstract anythingwhich has once passed into the body of the box.

It is secure against deran gement, either from use or from the effectsof the weather, for there will be no orilce for the admission of wetexcept the opening E, and that will be securely covered by the valve F.

It will be inexpensive and durable, for it may be constructed entirelyof cast-iron and in no more than seven pieces, none of which willrequire much if any dressing or finishing.

It will be convenient for bulky matter, as

newspapers, Ste., may be deposited in it with as much convenience asletters are; and bein g automatic in closing, there can be no dan ger ofdamage from exposure in consequence of any opening bein g leftuncovered.

Having described lnyinvention, what I claim as new7 and desire to secureby Letters Patent, 1S

Apostal letter-box havin g an ante-chamber in which packages aredeposited, -when said ante-chamber basa sliding,` bottom7 whieh iswithdrawn when the entrance-port' is closed7 and vice versa, saidsliding bottom being con# neoted to and operated by the valve,\vhicl1covers the entrance-port, by a lever or tilting bar, and so adjustedthat entrance to the reeepA taele below the ante-chamber will always bebarred, either by the Valve over the entrance port or by the sliding`bottom, substantially as described.

D. D. FOLEY.

Witnesses: l

R. D. O. SMITH, J. F. CALLAN.

Qui.

